The Future Freaks Me Out
by BluePhyre
Summary: Franny Robinson married into many things; insanity, fame, and... betrayal. And, finally, she's discovering this. It's safe to say, the future now freaks her out. Wilbur/Lewis CestSlash. 8th in Series.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Meet the Robinsons, or anything from Disney... Or the song "The Future Freaks Me Out" by Motion City Soundtrack... or Motion City Soundtrack itself. They, along with the wonderful Shira Tsukiko, who PMed me about my CestSlash stories. ^_^ Thank you, Nicky! Wilbur loves you. Teehee.**

Alright, that's pretty much it from me. Well, not really. I'm sorry I haven't been on (mostly because I found SnitchSeeker and fell in love with RPG... Go and sign up if you love Harry Potter like me! They have a FF section, as well as RPG. And if you do sign up... Mention that BluePhyre recruited you, cuz that's me. It's amazing... You'll love it... And you can check out my stuff there, even if you don't sign up!) and I'm sorry I hvaen't updated anything... But I pounded this out because of Shira Tsukiko, who messaged me about my stories. Now I only have two requests left to fill out from MTR... But you can change that if you make a request! Aha... I love having work lined up to do, even if I never do it. You people inspire me! And more propaganda like that to get you to review. So.. Go on. Read. This is a long one, as compared to the others, so take your time and enjoy.

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It was a momentous day when Wilbur Robinson was born. It was a hot late August day that the newest addition to the family came into the world, fat, chubby, cooing, and already wielding a small, tiny cowlick that he would proudly bear for the rest of his life.

And the moment Franny laid her eyes on the energetic infant, the first time she held him, she knew she had met him before, somehow. Those beautiful brown eyes, the arrogant look _already_ developing in them, and that slick, black cowlick…

Franny and Cornelius hadn't planned out a name for their child officially beforehand. Franny wasn't really the type to plan ahead, and Cornelius… well, he hadn't voiced his opinion on the matter of names. But, looking down at the baby in her arms, remembering a time she had seen the same face, older, more handsome, less cute and fat, just as illogical, Franny knew what his name would be.

After Cornelius' old, North Montanan friend, he was named Wilbur. Wilbur Robinson… It fit well. Too well… And Cornelius hadn't remarked on this at all, for he wasn't surprised. And he wasn't surprised, well, because he knew everything. At least, Franny quite often told herself that when he caught her doing little, insignificant things she had never told him about, or sometimes when, in his sleep, where she found him to be the most entrancing, most innocent and angelic, he happened to ramble on for hours about the square root of pie, the space time continuum, or something equally, undeniably genius.

Well, Franny had dismissed the resemblance between the older, friend Wilbur and her son, Wilbur, for she didn't think of it to be too much of a coincidence. The cowlick did run in her family, and the friend Wilbur had just so happened to have a cowlick. And brown eyes were common with black hair, especially when the opposing genes from Cornelius were both recessive. It wasn't that odd. Just… a coincidence. Just a coincidence.

But then, Cornelius started abandoning his work to care for little Wilbur, something he had never done, not even for his own wife. Not all that much, at least. Franny thought it was adorable… Cornelius was such a doting father. She was inspired by them both, inspired enough to compose wonderful instrumental works for her frogs. Instrumental only, for words could never be put to what she felt.

That was arguably one of the best times of Franny's life. She saw her husband in a new light, a new light that made him seem even more perfect, she had an adorable son, a crazy family to ease any stress she could ever develop, an army of talented frogs ready to jump at her very command… It was perfect. Life was good. And there were noticeably fewer house flies wandering around the Robinson estate. That was just an added bonus.

But then, around the time Wilbur reached his first birthday, something drastically changed. Not quite in everyday life, but certainly in Franny's mind, in her awareness of exactly what was going on around her. Wanting to show Wilbur and Cornelius the newest symphony she wrote for her froggy friends, Franny had nearly _flown_ over to the nursery in pure happiness that had exuded from her very pores from the time Wilbur had been born, and, peered into the room slowly; she had always enjoyed seeing Cornelius at his best as a father, and we was only as doting as he could possibly be when no one else was around…

That day, Franny didn't find Wilbur and Cornelius alone in the nursery. There were two other people, both looking uncannily familiar. The first visitor, the older one, had Wilbur's eyes, the family cowlick, that cheeky air to him, even as he spoke low as he sat across from Cornelius, an image of what Franny had always imagined Wilbur would grow up to be. It was… Wilbur, the North Montanan who had never revealed his surname name. Not that Franny had particularly cared… She had never really liked North Montana Wilbur.

And the second was a small child, probably little Wilbur's age, with bright blue eyes and blonde hair that stood straight up, just like Cornelius. Eerily so… Wilbur Montana - that was what she would call him, after the blonde pop star whose career had ended in flames and the hatred of all people in their right mind - had a son? And the son looked _exactly_ like Cornelius? That was just too odd…

"If I always found away," Franny heard Cornelius, his back to where she stood, peering in through a tiny crack in the door, say softly, his voice heavy with regret, "none of this would exist. If I always found a way, you wouldn't be my son, and I wouldn't be twenty-six years older than you."

Franny gasped silently. So Wilbur Montana was the _only_ Wilbur… He was her son, Wilbur Robinson! But how…? Why had he been in the past, the same age as them? Why was he there, in the present, looking just as old as Cornelius? How was that possible? Ugh, the mind boggled!

She didn't say anything, though, but instead let her husband's whispered words wash over her, letting herself take all the information in like a sponge, hoping to retain some insight from the personal conversation.

"We'd both have the rest of ours lives in front of us and no pretenses, and I wouldn't be Cornelius," the blonde continued with a sigh. "Not to you."

"Cornelius," Franny mouthed, her lips curled into a sad, teary frown. She didn't understand. Why didn't Cornelius want to be himself? Who _did_ he want to be, and why would it make any difference between him and Wilbur? Where did she play in? And oh, God, she had never been so compelled to ask so many damn questions!

"You're still Lewis," Wilbur Montana murmured, answering Franny's unasked question. "In a way," the man continued, "you'll always be." Both the men cast forlorn looks over to the two infants in the pin, then Wilbur smiled grimly. "Now that I'm born, do you think we can…?"

Franny shook her head, backing away from the door. There was something wrong with that scene; it was a scene she didn't want to think about, didn't want to dissect for the meaning behind it. Without waiting to hear Cornelius' answer, she spun around on her heels and marched back down the hallway, fighting tears that came to her chocolate brown eyes. The same eyes Wilbur had…

She wouldn't cry, she told herself. It was only her husband and her son, they were only having a deep conversation… There was nothing wrong. Absolutely nothing…

Franny never did find out what happened that day, and she didn't want to. Wilbur Montana had seemed to leave, and Wilbur Robinson grew, becoming more of the man Franny had seen in the nursery with each passing day. As Wilbur grew older, Cornelius became enthralled in his work bit by bit, burying himself so much in it that he would often go for days without seeing the rest of him family. But when they did get together, it was always a memorable time. Still… the blonde inventor was slowly drifting away…

By the time Wilbur was twelve, Franny understood why she had seen Wilbur Montana in the nursery, for Cornelius had recently invented a time machine and had started working on a second. She could only believe that Wilbur would own one in the future. After all, he had once said he had more of Cornelius' inventions than she would think…

And then, Wilbur, age thirteen, traveled back in time to bring his father, titled Lewis at the time, to the future to help him with a problem of his own creation. Looking back on it, Franny realized that was what probably triggered Wilbur's recurring appearances in Cornelius' life even before his birth. She was shocked when she saw a younger Cornelius staring back at her, hat off and wide-eyes in fear that he wouldn't be accepted. Oh, Wilbur was in _so_ much trouble…

But it was fixed and, despite Wilbur being "grounded for life," Cornelius had convinced Franny to ease up his punishment to a mere two weeks. _That_ change was nothing to sneeze at, even when you owned a time machine… Eventually, the whole ordeal blew over, and Franny could have easily forgotten it, if she hadn't become paranoid of her own son's travels from the future.

And yet, at that point, she didn't lose sleep over any of it. No, she knew all was well, or she thought that much. There couldn't be anything between Wilbur and Cornelius. Not her Cornelius. He was too virtuous, too strong, and too… straight… to do anything with his own _son_. And how could she ever be jealous of her son, the one she and Cornelius had created together? The one that bore her own blood, that loved her dearly, that had been raised by her? How could he do anything so horrible to betray her? No, she didn't fathom that she could have anything to worry about, because both her son and her husband were just too perfect to have such… flaws.

And, after all, hadn't it been Lewis that Wilbur could even dare to yearn over, not Cornelius?

Everything was fine, Franny told herself. At least, until this moment. She hadn't lost sleep over Wilbur and Cornelius. No, not at all. But it was quite apparent that tonight could be the first.

There were many things she could start with. There was Wilbur and the time machine that seemed to be missing from the garage. That wasn't _such _a bad thing. That had been happening recently, really. And when she had asked Cornelius about it, he said she shouldn't worry, that he didn't remember Wilbur visiting around the age that he was in the present and that if he was messing up the time stream, it would have been apparent by now.

Of course, that could have been a lie, Franny mused. It seemed that a lot of things Cornelius said were lies. One of them being the whole gist of the night.

Franny had been invited to conduct at a gala, where her frogs' talents would be shown off quite well, and she had assumed that, since it was so far away from New York, she wouldn't be back for the night. She could simple just stay in a hotel. One room for her, one room for her frogs. It would be a terrible waste of money, but no one knew how _angry_ frogs could get around bed time as well as Franny did, and she wouldn't want to take her chances. Freddy, for instance, knew kung fu. No, a talking frog was not a good thing to cross.

But, as she got to Penn Station, about to leave for North Montana - she had thought about calling Wilbur, but then she remembered he was her son and everything - Franny had gotten a call, informing her that the gala was cancelled. There had been a moose incident, and it had gotten rather messy. Though, she was told not to worry about it. Mooses, meese, or whatever they were being called in large numbers there days, seemed to do that a lot in North Montana. That was why the Robinsons hadn't moved there in the first place. Grandpa Bud had an irrational - although, when hearing about the damage, Franny begun to think otherwise - fear of mooses. Meese. Whatever. Maybe she could ask Wilbur Montana about that the next time she saw him. But she didn't want to see him… ever.

She had then taken the hover car home, and, parking it in the garage was when she found out Wilbur was gone. Probably long gone, unless last night's homework was on his agenda. But she didn't fret. Like always, he'd return home before the night was through. Perhaps, for once, he would even think about returning at a time where he'd get a nice night's worth of sleep, even.

Franny had decided to tell Cornelius anyway, hoping he would wait up to ground Wilbur again, seeing as, since her gala was cancelled, she was feeling rather put out and just wanted to sleep. The frogs had already gone to bed, or maybe to the bar, since half of them were raving alcoholics, and she was left alone. So, not wanting to disturb the peace of the house, she had snuck very, very quietly, almost suspiciously, to the bedroom she shared with Cornelius.

And, to her surprise, she found it occupied by not one person, but two.

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"Wilbur, what _are _you doing here!?" Cornelius snapped, trying to hide the blush that belonged to Lewis as he stared angrily at his son. "Haven't you been banned from time travel or something?"

"God, you make future you and mom sound Nazi-ish," Wilbur said back, looking to be about forty, just like Cornelius. "Banning. What it this, the Ming Dynasty? Besides, I don't even live at home now. Well, with you and mom. I live a boring, very un-Robinson style life with my wife and son. I think I might almost be normal now."

"You?" Cornelius asked dryly, arching one eyebrow in sarcastic disbelief. "Never. You can't be, after how many times you were hit on the head as a baby." This is where Wilbur ignored his father completely, turning to look at himself in the mirror just opposite the king-sized bed.

Leaning on the vanity under the mirror, which was only there because of Franny, Wilbur examined his face in every angle possible quite seriously. "I didn't mean my looks, Dad," he replied vainly, almost hurt. "Even at the old age of forty-one, I'm obviously devilishly handsome. It's all in the cowlick, by the way, which hasn't receded. At all. Just adds a young glow to my face. Like Orlando Bloom, only better. _Much_ better. And younger. _Much_ younger."

"Ah, the cocky bastard," Cornelius sighed. "I met him once. It's hard to believe, but he was more vain than you." After a moment of watching Wilbur prod his own cheeks, look up his own nose, and stare soulfully into his own, dark brown eyes, the blonde added, "Very, _very_ hard to believe…"

"Don't hate me because I'm beautiful," Wilbur drawled - in Cornelius' opinion, he couldn't have been more gay at that very moment - never looking away from his reflection. "You have no reason to. You're looking alright for your age, you know. Not as good as me, heavens no, but definitely alright."

Cornelius rolled his eyes, but began pondering if Wilbur wasn't looking at him specifically because the only thing he was wearing was a towel around his waist, thanks to Wilbur catching him coming out of the shower. What horrible timing he had. Or, maybe, it was perfect timing…

"If I wasn't gay before, I'm pretty sure that statement right there would have me barfing rainbows for the next week and a half," the blonde murmured after a moment of silence, complete with a roll of his eyes. In the hall, Franny squeaked in shock, ducking around the corner to subdue her surprise and horror without alerting the two men.

Cornelius was _gay_!? Not even bisexual… Gay! Did he love her at all? How could even look at her after all they had gone through, how many times they had… No, Franny blinked, wiping tears from her brown almond eyes. He hadn't seen her. He had never seen her. It had been Wilbur, with the same eyes, the same hair, the same skin… He hadn't looked at her once after they had made love. He had never said her name during, whispered or yelled… He had never once proven that it was her he loved. It had been Wilbur, always Wilbur…

He had only married her so Wilbur would exist. Because he knew who Wilbur was, because he didn't want Wilbur to disappear from existence. Had he done anything that wasn't for Wilbur? What else had he faked? Did Cornelius even _like_ her company? Did he hate her for being necessary, like she suddenly found herself doing so?

Franny couldn't tell; Cornelius had always been brilliant at lying. She could never tell what was truth, what was lies… And now could be her only chance to find out. She had to go back there, listen to everything they said, even if it broke her heart. Franny needed to hear the truth.

"Where's Mom?" Wilbur asked as Franny peaked into the room once more. He had a dimple in his cheek, as if he were biting the inside nervously. Apprehensively. He _wanted_ her to be gone. Franny bit her cheek just the same. Her son… did he even love her? Was Wilbur jealous of her, that she got to share a future with Cornelius, and not him? Did he hate her for taking Lewis away?

"She's away tonight," Cornelius replied with a sigh. "She booked a performance with her frogs in North Montana for the night. It's a pretty important, gala, actually. She's staying in a hotel there overnight. I'd imagine she's performing now…"

Not quite, Franny thought to herself, but, since neither of the men heard her, their conversation continued without a hitch.

"She must be excited about that," Wilbur replied. "Mom always loved her frogs more than anything…" There was a pause, and Franny scowled. No, she loved her family more than she loved her frogs. But apparently, that sentiment wasn't shared. "So… Can we, you know…"

"This had been going on too long, Wilbur," Cornelius sighed. "I can't do this to her anymore. I can't let you do this to Louise anymore, either. It isn't fair, and we're both going to burn in Hell for it sooner or later…"

"Yeah, well we're gay," Wilbur snorted. "Of _course_ we're going to burn in Hell. 'And thou shalt not lie down with another man as thou would a woman,' or something like that. God smites us. We smite God. That's the way the cookie crumbles, so we might as well thoroughly enjoy our sin, wouldn't you say?"

"I don't believe that," Cornelius replied. "I don't believe that God could hate anyone because they love, even if their love is different than the common people's. There have been many rewrites of the Bible. That, I concur, is one of the many things added in to control and oppress different peoples the Church did not approve of."

"Ooh, deep," Wilbur said with a snort. "Hey, Father of the Future, you're a scientist. Aren't you supposed to be agnostic or something?" Even at a time like this, Franny smiled a bit. Wilbur had always been too funny to _not_ laugh at sometimes. And oh, she was hating that trait right about now…

Cornelius' answer was a blatant, "No." He scoffed. "I'm a Disney character. Of course I believe in God. Naturally, it's never stated, but always implied, because that's what's politically correct." He paused, looking out the window, over the world he had created. "They want politically correct; they always have. And… Because of you, I have to give them that."

Franny paused. Politically correct…? If Wilbur was the reason Cornelius was gay, then why did he have to be politically correct because of _him_? After Wilbur was born, Cornelius could have divorced Franny easily. It would be an alternative to this lie that they all had been living, all but two of them, up until now, unknowingly. Why would Cornelius put them through that? Sure, it _seemed_ like lying for all of them would make them feel better, but once the truth got out… it would be so much worse.

"You love her," Wilbur spat, crossing his arms as he still glared into the mirror, refusing to look at Cornelius. "I don't believe this anymore, Lewis. You make excuses why… Why we can't just _give up_ on being right! You're lying to me; I know it. You love her, and you haven't loved me… for the longest time. You're Cornelius now. I doubt Lewis is even hidden in there, still." He paused to glance away, towards the door. Franny hopped away from it, her heart pounding. If… If they found out that she was out here…

"You've led me on!" the brunet screamed, moving to punch the wall. She heard the thud and jumped, peering back in to see her son's hand going straight through the wall. Eyes wide, she noticed the muscles in his arms; since when had Wilbur begun working out like that!? "And… and now I'm the only one messed up! I'm the only one hurting anymore! _Cornelius_ is a heartless bastard. That's all he'll ever be…"

"Wilbur, be quiet," Cornelius' only response was. "The rest of the family is in the house; you and Franny are the only ones gone tonight. If they hear you…"

"Then you'll be ruined," Wilbur snorted. "That's all it is now… That's all it's ever been. Your reputation! Well, guess what? It hurts me more than it will _ever_ hurt you. And that's because it's all true; you don't give a damn about me anymore."

Cornelius, who had had his back turned on Wilbur the entire time, suddenly wheeled around, face bright red - as it always got, with his fair complexion, when he was extremely angry - and vivid blue eyes narrowed and teeming with aggression.

"No, Wilbur," he snapped, striding towards the brunet with a certain angry stomp in his step that Franny had yet to see. "_None_ of it is true. I've never been Cornelius. Always Lewis. And it hurts, every day, to think about all that's happened, all that I've done to you and our family. But you know what!? I can't handle it anymore! All the praise, the reputation of utter perfection, when it's all a lie! I want to forget, Wilbur! And… And I've been working on an invention. It'll make us both forget… Forget any romantic feelings we've had for each other… Everything that's happened…"

"I don't want it," Wilbur replied, cutting Cornelius off before he could finish. "I don't want to forget any of this; I want to know why I end up in Hell… Why I feel empty inside every day of my life. I don't want to forget you or anything that's happened between us… I don't want to forget _Lewis_."

Cornelius' visage of anger faded as he listened to Wilbur speak, replaced with a gentle look of sorrow that only could be portrayed by the lost, forgotten orphan named Lewis. Sighing, he buried his face in Wilbur's shoulder, leaning into him as if he'd otherwise fall over. Franny inched away from the door, resting her back against the wall. Tears were slowly rolling down her face. They… They were so perfect… And she had to stand between them. Why!? Why had fate damned them all!?

Wilbur kissed the top of Lewis' head, pulling him closer as he hushed the blonde. Those tears that were wetting his shirt fell from the eyes of Lewis, helpless and stuck in a situation even he could never find a way out of. And… And it hurt to see that he had done so much harm by leaving the garage door open. But despite that… Wilbur wouldn't take it back. He'd relive every moment to the best of his advantage. Because… This was who he was, and he would never change it.

But, beyond Lewis' silent crying, there were other sobs, quiet, dismal and feminine, right beyond the door. Wilbur's body froze in a cold heat.. And he panicked. That was Franny… That was his mother. She had heard them… She had found out. And.. Oh God… He had betrayed her…

"Lewis," Wilbur whispered softly, as so that she could not hear. "She…" he paused. "Mom's outside… Crying…"

Lewis lifted his head up, blue eyes wide and tearful. Franny had been _Lewis'_ mom, too, and, for a moment, his horror at hurting her shown through. And then, the look changed to something harder, but just as terribly depressing, and Wilbur knew that Cornelius had returned, and was there to protect his wife.

He pulled away from his son, grabbing something small and rectangular off of the dresser. It looked like a small, ancient tape recorder, with a flash attached to the front, and was no bigger than the palm of his hand. Determinedly, Cornelius opened the door, and, sure enough, Franny sat on the ground, weeping quietly. She was so absorbed in her sadness that she didn't notice either of the men exiting the room and crouching before her; not until Cornelius gently grasped her chin and lifted her head so that she could look at him.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, kissing at the salty tears that were coating her cheeks. "I never meant to hurt you… And we never meant for you to find out like this." He glanced out of the corner of his eye to Wilbur, whose solemn expression spoke for him, without the words he so often used. Everything had changed him… Just a little bit. "I love you, Franny, and I'll protect you no matter what; even if it's from myself."

She didn't reply, but only stared into his blue eyes, wondering how many times he had lied to her in the past twenty years of their marriage. How could his eyes be so beautiful, so clear, when he had done so much to her? How could he talk evenly like this, patient and calm, as if he was consoling a small child? How could she still love him completely after hearing that? How could she… How could she wish him and Wilbur luck!? What was wrong with her?

Cornelius saw all of these questions in her eyes, and he didn't want her to ask them of herself. This would destroy her… He didn't need a time machine to prove that. So, taking the small object in his hand, he lifted it to be level with her eyes, holding it on its side, as so that the light would shine directly between Franny's eyes.

"I'm going to erase your memory of this, Franny," he said evenly, emotions too distraught to affect his visage. "You can't know the truth… That's the ultimate pain that I have to protect you from." And then, he pressed a button on the object, and the light went on, white and searing to the eyes. Franny did not blink, but instead stared right into the light blankly. And then, after a moment of silence, she collapsed

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It was morning when Franny woke up groggily, blinking as she tried to figure out where she was. She glanced around; this was her own bedroom. She didn't remember how she got there… She must have been so tired last night that she collapsed in bed and failed to recollect the walk back to the bedroom. With a sigh, she cuddled up to the heat that came from Cornelius lying beside her, and let her eyes shut once more. He was so perfect… She was lucky to have him…

"Wilbur brought the time machine back safely," Cornelius muttered, laying straight on his back as he watched the white ceiling, wide awake. Franny mumbled something quietly, her voice wavering from the bliss she was experiencing in half-sleep. "What was that?" the blonde asked, hoping to hear her answer again.

"But he doesn't time travel," Franny repeated, smiling as she snuggled closer. "He's been grounded from time traveling since he brought little you back here…"

Cornelius sighed; it had worked. "You're right, love," he lied evenly. "It must have been a dream. That's all it was…"

And the two drifted back into sleep, one unknowing and the other untroubled. It was the only moment that they shared together so blissfully, but it was all that their marriage was based on; unrequited love and lies, all to make everything prettier and that much more perfect. And if only they could have laid there forever, just in that moment, they everything would have been alright. But nothing lasted eternally, and, as the day came and went, trouble would enter their lives much more. And, in this case, trouble had a cowlick and mischievous brown eyes. They both loved trouble very much… And that was all that they shared.

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Kay, I didn't really know how to end this one, but it works.. Kinda. And I realized that, later on in the timeline, I didn't mention Franny knowing, so I pulled a MIB move and had her memory erased. It wasn't the way I was aiming, but I think it worked better. So that's Franny's perspective on the whole thing... I dunno. I felt that it was overdue. She might not be involved in the pairing as much, but she matters.... Seeing as she's the "other" one. And Motion City Soundtrack's "The Future Freaks Me Out" is an amazing song, they're an amazing song. Check them out... Even though the song has nothing to do with the fic. I liked the title, you know. My favorite song of theirs is LG Faud.. It's fun.

So... Read, Reply, and Request! Love y'all! Peace.


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